Is Stone More Expensive Then Wood Siding?

The simple answer to that question is "yes".

There are several reasons that stone is more expensive then wood siding or any other exterior material that you want to put on your new home or cottage;

• The actual material is more expensive to buy then wood siding. Stone has to be quarried, that means that it can only be taken out of the ground once and it has to be done with explosives and or heavy equipment. Where wood siding is made from Quebec pine and can be re-harvested every 20 years or so and can be handled with smaller equipment. 
• Stone is labour intensive to work with as it is heavy and requires either a piece of equipment or several strong backs to move it around a jobsite.
• There is a shortage of good qualified stone masons in southern Ontario. This means that to find a mason that will do a high end superior job will cost you more money as they are usually in high demand, they usually have a waiting list.
• Most stone is not uniform. Stone is usually blended with different shapes, colours and types of stones to create a pattern or non pattern that is appealing to the eye. This takes time to layout on the ground before it can be installed, this process requires you to handle the stone more then once which costs more time.
• You have to prep the wall with either rain screen or wire mesh or both. These products and the time it takes to install them drive the price of the installation higher.
• Usually shipping of stone material is expensive as it is heavy and quarries are far away from most build sites.
• When installing stone you must use scaffolding whenever you get above or near the workers head height. The assembling of scaffolding is time consuming costly work.
• Stone is a forever product, as long as it is installed properly, you should have little to no maintenance going forward as stone does not rot and insects do not eat it like they do with wood products.

One thing about building a new home or cottage in the Bruce Peninsula is that the quarries for most of the stone that you will want on the outside of your home is located there. That will cut the shipping cost of the stone down to a minimum. 

In a world that wants you to buy local as much as possible, buying quarried stone for your home that is from the same area is a good thing for you and the local economy.

When setting your house budget if you are looking to have stone installed on the outside you will want to add some more monies so that you do not end up with sticker shock.

Rob Abbott

President

Great Lakes Custom Homes